An Anchorage teacher is accused of pushing an 8-year-old student into a wall and then a door at Ptarmigan Elementary School in May, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
The teacher, Lynn Sherwood, remained on paid administrative leave Monday as the case winds through the court system.
Sherwood, 53, said in a text message Monday that questions should be directed to her lawyer, Kevin Fitzgerald. He didn't immediately return calls.
Sherwood didn't appear at the Nesbett Courthouse earlier that day, when the next court date was set in the case for Oct. 29. The case has not yet gone to trial.
City prosecutors have charged Sherwood with one misdemeanor count of child abuse.
Katherine and Nicholas Armon, the parents of the elementary school student, sat in a back corner of the courtroom Monday morning. In an interview, they said they want to see Sherwood found guilty of the charge and they want the district to provide its teachers with more training. The Armons said their son, Austin, is autistic. Sherwood was his second-grade teacher.
"This has impacted Austin a lot," Katherine Armon said about her son, who is now 9 years old and at another school. "Whenever he has another meltdown, something he has brought up is, 'What are you going to do? Push me into a corner like Ms. Sherwood did?' "
According to the complaint signed by an Anchorage police officer, video footage from Ptarmigan Elementary on May 3 shows Sherwood escorting the student, identified as "AA," through the hall by his shoulder. The student was agitated and swinging his arms toward the teacher and pulling away, the complaint said.
"Sherwood pushed AA into a wall and continues to escort him down the hallway," it said.
The student continued to fight against Sherwood, the complaint said. Sherwood let him go as several other students approached. The student was in an alcove near several large rolls of paper and Sherwood pushed him into a door "forcefully," the complaint said.
Katherine Armon said the video footage shows that after Sherwood shoved her son, he dropped to the floor and tried to get away.
At the time, Sherwood was taking Austin and his classmates from art class to recess, Armon said. She said Austin had gotten into a disagreement with classmates during art class and Sherwood told him he couldn't go to recess.
The complaint said another teacher reported seeing Sherwood "rush" the student that day in the hallway, causing him to slam into a wall. The teacher intervened and took the student to the school nurse. But the nurse couldn't examine him because he was too upset, the complaint said.
He was later taken to a doctor who said he had bruising along his spine and on his head, according to the complaint.
Armon said her son's behavior in the hallway was not appropriate, and he had one day of in-school suspension because of it.
"By no means are we saying Austin is innocent in this, but he did serve a punishment for his actions and that's basically what made us pursue discipline for her actions as well," she said. "If I'm trying to teach him that you can't hit and kick people, I also need to teach him that adults can't hurt people either."
Anchorage School District Superintendent Deena Bishop described the teacher's actions as "absolutely inappropriate and unacceptable."
"This isn't an everyday occurrence for us. This isn't an expectation. This isn't what happens in our schools," Bishop said in an interview Friday. "But when it does, we act."
The district hired Sherwood in August 2003.
Sherwood was first put on administrative leave on May 4 through May 8, as the district's Human Resources Department investigated the hallway incident, Bishop said. Sherwood was then allowed to return to the classroom, where she continued teaching.
That was a mistake, Bishop said.
"I wouldn't have that teacher back in the classroom," Bishop said.
Bishop didn't learn about the incident until May 21, the day after teachers' last day of school, according to a timeline provided by the district. Parents had requested video footage of the incident, Bishop said.
Bishop met with school district senior management June 1 to discuss why Sherwood was allowed to return to teaching, according to the timeline. Sherwood was again placed on administrative leave July 24, before the start of the current school year. She continues to receive a salary and benefits.
Aside from the criminal case, the district is conducting its own internal investigation, Bishop said.
Now, Bishop said, all future incidents must be reported to her right away.
The maximum penalty for child abuse under municipal code is one year in jail and a $10,000 fine, according to Anchorage municipal prosecutor Seneca Theno. The minimum penalty is a $50 surcharge.